If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

OT: Bounty players' bans overturned, huge setback for Goodell

Bounty players' bans overturned

Updated: September 7, 2012
ESPN.com news services

NEW ORLEANS -- The suspensions of Jonathan Vilma and three other players in the NFL's bounty investigation were lifted Friday by a three-member appeals panel and the league reinstated those players a few minutes later.

While the ruling allows Saints linebacker Vilma, banned for the 2012 season, Saints defensive end Will Smith, Cleveland linebacker Scott Fujita and free agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove to play immediately, it does not permanently void their suspensions.

The return of linebacker Jonathan Vilma and defensive end Will Smith is a huge victory for the Saints and will be significant on the field, writes Pat Yasinskas. Blog

Linebacker Scott Fujita wasn't with the Browns this week, but he wasn't far away, either. Now, he's back and ready to help the team, writes Paul Kuharsky. Blog

Still, the ruling comes just two days before the first full slate of NFL games this season and is a setback for commissioner Roger Goodell and the league.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Goodell would "make an expedited determination of the discipline imposed" for violating the league's bounty rule.

"Until that determination is made, the four players are reinstated and eligible to play starting this weekend," Aiello said.

League sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that Goodell is likely to reach a new decision in the coming weeks, but it will not be before this weekend's games.

Vilma tweeted: "Victory is mine!!!! -stewie griffin."

Added Fujita: "I'm overwhelmed with all the support. Thank you so much everyone. Can't tell you how much it means to me."

If Vilma, Smith and Fujita are now on their respective teams' rosters Sunday, their salaraies will be guaranteed for the 2012 season. Hargrove was released by the Packers in the preseason.

"I think it is an extremely strong statement that a three-judge panel unanimously ruled to lift the suspensions," Saints quarterback Drew Brees told ESPN's Ed Werder. "It makes you feel like they took a very hard look at all the evidence there and saw that we were in the right. ... Today makes you feel like justice has been served."

While the panel did not address the merits of the NFL's bounty investigation, it said Goodell overstepped his authority in hearing the players' appeals of their punishment for their roles in the Saints bounty program that paid cash bonuses for hits that injured opponents.

The panel's decision states that special master Stephen Burbank, not Goodell, should discipline players for receiving money from a pool that paid for big plays. Goodell's role, the panel said, should be limited to whether he can prove the players intended to injure opponents, which would fall in the category of conduct detrimental to the game. Players and coaches implicated in the bounty pool have testified under oath in a related federal court case they never intended to injure opposing players.

"Whether the commissioner tries to readdress the situation or not is his call," said Peter Ginsberg, Vilma's attorney. "We are certainly hoping the appeals board has made it clear the commissioner tried to grab jurisdiction and impose penalties over an area he does not have oversight. ... The factual record in the court makes it clear he has acted in a biased and inappropriate manner."

The Saints open their season at home against Washington on Sunday, while the Browns host Philadelphia.

Earlier this week, Saints interim head coach Aaron Kromer said Smith, who participated in training camp and the preseason before he began serving his four-game suspension on Monday, would be ready to play against Washington if available.

Vilma's status was not as clear. His season-long suspension began before training camp and he has been trying to work his way back from offseason surgery on his left knee.

Saints players had recently finished practice when they received word of the panel's ruling.

"It's huge," said Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins, a defensive captain. "Those are two huge leaders we've got. They're great players. We've got a talented team, but you add Will Smith and Jonathan Vilma, our talent level goes up that much. For our team, it's a break."

Even if Vilma could not play right away, Jenkins said his presence in the locker room and meetings would be valuable.

"Great news and exciting to hear," Saints linebacker Scott Shanle told Werder. "It's been a long process that didn't involve a lot of facts. These guys have stood strong and stood by what was right. Glad it paid off with this ruling."

A team source previously told Werder that Vilma planned to attend Sunday's season opener against the Washington Redskins, but believed he was at least a week or two from being ready to play because of a knee injury.

The Browns were notified by the league that Fujita was eligible. They were also issued a roster exemption, which will allow them to carry 54 players.

Linebacker D'Qwell Jackson was sure the 33-year-old Fujita would be able to come back and have an immediate impact.

"I'm confident Scott has been keeping his conditioning up and he knows the system," Jackson said.

"He's got what 12 years in? He'll be fine. If he's able to come back there will be a lot of excitement in this locker room."

Fujita was barred from Cleveland's training facility this week, but he stayed in town and worked out on his own at nearby Baldwin Wallace University in the event the suspension was lifted. Fujita, who serves on the NFLPA's executive committee, had expressed confidence he would be on the field in Week 1. His return is welcome news to the Browns.

Hargrove, docked eight games, was released last month by Green Bay and was not currently with a team.

The panel consisted of retired federal Judge Fern Smith of San Francisco, retired federal Judge Richard Howell of New York, and Georgetown professor James Oldham. It met in New York last week to hear arguments from the NFL Players Association, which appealed Burbank's ruling that Goodell had the authority to hear and rule on the players' appeals of their suspensions. NFL attorneys had asked the panel to affirm Burbank's ruling, but the panel sided in large part with the union.

i don't believe the article mention their coach, does he get to come back ?

Today’s ruling means nothing to Payton, Vitt, Loomis, Williams

Posted by Mike Florio on September 7, 2012

Perhaps the most common question raised in the wake of today’s ruling from the internal appeals panel scuttling the bounty suspensions and sending the process back to Commissioner Roger Goodell (and square one) is whether it will affect the suspensions imposed on non-players, like Saints coach Sean Payton.

The quick answer? No.

Payton, Saints interim coach Joe Vitt, Saints G.M. Mickey Loomis, and former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams were not disciplined within the confines of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the players. The player protections come from the fact that they have a union that has negotiated a comprehensive and detailed labor deal. Non-players are protected only by the terms of their employment contracts — which simply don’t include the kind of provisions that helped the players in this specific case.

For non-players, every dispute on every issue goes back to the league office for resolution. So while the CBA has given the players new life (for now), the non-players continue to be suspended, with no hope for any change in their status.

From what I understand, this ruling will eventually mean nothing - and the players will soon be suspended again.

This is what I take from it......The appeals panel said that they want Goodell to clarify something. Is this bounty issue about increasing pay - which is a salary cap issue - or is it about intentional injuring - which falls under "conduct detrimental"?

If the commish says that it is circumventing the salary cap, then it is not under his jurisdiction. If he says that it is about conduct detrimental, then it is. What do you think he will say? And, rightfully so - this is about players paying each other to injure opponents. Within a week, the commish will uphold the suspensions.

Goodell will have his way. I'm all for safety, fair play and all that but Goodell picks and chooses at his pleasure. If the Saints are guilty then fine, give them the punishment. I thought what the Pats did was far worse and to me, they got a slap on the wrist. When one of the Ravens spoke on the radio that they have a bounty on Hines where, was the NFL for that one ? Goodell is a joke.